Yankees, Astros lineups for ALCS Game 1 - MLB

Following a tense five-game ALDS, the Astros are set to host the Yankees for the first game of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night. Although the Astros needed all five games to defeat the Rays in the first round of the postseason, they haven’t lost a single game at home yet — something that may bode well for them as the first two ALCS games are played out at Minute Maid Park.

The Yankees, on the other hand, coasted to a seamless three-game sweep over the Twins this week, and will be looking to do the same against the AL West champs, too. They’ll send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound for his first postseason start since Game 2 of the ALDS, when he tossed five innings of one-run, one-walk, seven-strikeout ball in an 8-2 win over the Twins. Nothing else has changed in the lineup, though Torres and Sánchez have swapped spots, as have Gregorius and Urshela.

DJ LeMahieu (R) 1B
Aaron Judge (R) RF
Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
Edwin Encarnación (R) DH
Giancarlo Stanton (R) LF
Brett Gardner (L) CF
Gary Sánchez (R) C
Gio Urshela (R) 3B
Didi Gregorius (L) SS

P: Masahiro Tanaka, RHP

The Astros will also bring out their ALDS-clinching lineup for Game 1, with the exception of Josh Reddick and Martín Maldonado. Kyle Tucker will replace Reddick in right field, while Robinson Chirinos will take over for Maldonado behind the dish. Zack Greinke is scheduled to take the ball for Houston; despite running an exceptional regular season campaign, he’s still looking for his first win in October after getting shelled in Game 3 of the ALDS.

George Springer (R) CF
Michael Brantley (L) LF
José Altuve (R) 2B
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Carlos Correa (R) SS
Kyle Tucker (L) RF
Robinson Chirinos (R) C

P: Zack Greinke, RHP

Game 1 of the ALCS will kick off at 8:08 PM EDT.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”